A Not-So-Muggle Life
by PlatformNineAndThreeQuarters
Summary: Florance Vincey, a Hogwarts valedictorian finds herself in the muggle environment of Forks. What will happen, when she finds out that a certain family in Forks isn't as muggle as they pretend to be?
1. The Flight

1\. The Flight

It was 10 pm. I boarded the flight to Atlanta, to dad, to home. I hurt to think of it as home. I had considered Hogwarts my home for 5 years.

No! I would not think about it.

I tried to keep my attention on the surrounding, but nothing could hold my interest for long. It occurred to me that I would have a lot of free time of this flight to think about…. I sighed and took out my handbook of Biological Specimens from my bag. I had to keep myself busy.

I opened the book. There was something written on corner of the first page.

'How do you even tolerate this stuff?'

And that was it. It broke the barrier I had been desperately building. The note was written by Harry. I could never make a mistake in recognizing his handwriting. When would he have written it? Certainly not recently.

My mind was flooded by the memories and feelings, I had unsuccessfully tried to keep in check since yesterday. I remembered with sheer accuracy.

I was in the Gryffindor common room, packing the last of my things, three days after our disastrous visit to the Ministry of Magic, on the day of our departure from Hogwarts. The common room was empty except me when Harry came in, with gaunt face and empty eyes. I didn't know why, but I was suddenly afraid of him.

"You wouldn't be coming back next year, would you? ", he said in an expressionless voice.

I shocked at his question, even more at his tone. "What do you mean by that, Harry? Of course, I would be coming back".

"But you have qualified your N.E.W.T.s along with your O.W.L.s. There no more education Hogwarts can provide you."

"I wouldn't be coming back for studying. I would be coming back for you, Harry, to help you in these circumstances."

"You don't need to come back for me. I wouldn't need you."

"Don't argue with me about this, Harry. I'm coming. That's final."

"Flora, I don't want you to come back."

"What? Why?" I was even more shocked. What was happening?

"All these years, Flora, you have always been stealing the glory from me. You always 'save' me, broadcasting the fact that you are stronger than me. I am the Chosen One, not you. I don't want any help from you, anymore. I don't want you to come back to Hogwarts."

I was dumbfounded. It seemed that mind had gone numb. The meaning of his words was slowly sinking in, while I was standing there gaping at his face, which was as expressionless as it had been when he came in the common room.

My body withered with pain of my heart. Somehow even the pain felt good compared to the emptiness that I had been carrying.

How could he say that to me? After all those years, how could he?

I felt tears escape my eyes. I quickly wiped them off. This not going to work this way. I had to be strong.

I looked around desperately to find some distraction The two seats beside me were still empty. Maybe they had missed the flight.

However, just when the doors were about to closed, two passengers entered. I found myself staring shamelessly at them as they walked towards the seat. They were quite beautiful, a boy and a girl in their late teens. Both of them had pale skin, flawless and spotless, with perfect features, jet black eyes and purplish dark circles beneath them. The girl was tiny with short cropped black hair. The boy who was even more beautiful than the girl had solid built and brown hair. He was walking in front and was looking at me curiously, as if trying to figure something out. He frowned in concentration. He looked almost frustrated.

But just as he walked past the blower, his expressions changed. He stiffened and glared at me murderously. Why was he looking at me like that? What had I done?

He looked back to see the airplane door being shut. He sighed and sat down on the seat further to me. The girl who was absorbed in her own thought was oblivious to this and sat next to me.

I risked a peek at the boy and immediately regretted it. He was wearing the same expression and was looking straight ahead, as if calculating something.

The flight attendant came to offer us blankets. I accepted one. The girl was too absorbed in her thoughts to notice her. The boy refused with a stiff movement of head as if speaking would be too much of an effort for him.

Although I close my eyes, I did not sleep. I sat like that for half an hour and then opened my eyes slightly. My head was angled in such a way that I could see his fist. It was balled up tight with knuckles pointing out. I stared at his hand waiting for it to loosen. It never did.

…

I woke up the next morning to the commotion of deboarding passengers. I collected my things and walked out, thinking about last night's events. I could still picture his face, to the minute details, glaring at me with those hatred filled eyes.

I found dad pacing up and down the parking lot.

"Hi, dad." I called out, walking up to him and hugging him awkwardly. I was meeting him after 5 years.

Me and dad didn't share a great relationship. I guess I never really forgave him for leaving my mom all those years ago, when he found she was a witch. She was pregnant with me that time. He wasn't even aware about my existence until mom died seven years later. Me and mom had lived with grandad until then.

After that, life with dad wasn't exactly what I'd call normal. He loved me, of course but was wary about my magical powers which had started showing at that age. I had no moral support from him due to which I wasn't very good at controlling my powers. Things were not easy at school because of this.

Life got better when I went to Hogwarts. My grandfather, Albus Dumbledore, was the headmaster. I even spent the summer holidays with him for the last five years.

We drove to Forks in silence, except an occasional remark from dad about how much I'd grown and how happy he was to have me back.

It took us 4 hours to reach home. He dropped me there and left mumbling about some important meeting.

In front of me was 25 acres of Sameer Vincey's estate. Did I forget to mention? Yup, my dad is super rich.

I recognized the housekeeper who received me and escorted me to my bedroom. Mrs. Boyle. She was here when I was young. She didn't particularly like me because of my little accidents with my magic back then. Of course she didn't know what was actually going on. She just thought I was little mischief maker.

My room was pretty much the same as I had left it. I didn't feel home. I quickly unpacked and set up my stuff and lied down on the bed, staring at ceiling. I tried to count the number of flowers engraved there. Strangely, I had never noticed them before. I admired them now. They reminded of the engravings in my dorm at Hogwarts.

To be honest, I was trying to kill time so I wouldn't have to think the past or the future. I had reached Forks. I was thousands of miles away from Hogwarts, where I was never going back. Now what?

I had always wanted to become an Auror and had even finished my formal wizarding education two years early, but that didn't mean they'd lax the age limit for me. Maybe they had different rules here in the states, but it was highly unlikely.

So chances were, I had two years to kill, before I could do what I really wanted to. Dad would probably want me to join the Muggle high school. That's good. It would keep me busy. Maybe I could also join some vocational course. Maybe get a job.

Before I knew my conscious thoughts began to fade and I fell asleep into what seemed to me the most peaceful sleep I had in days.


	2. Dad

2\. Dad

I was right about dad wanting to put me in high school. He had already registered me as a junior. Session was starting in two days.

I had cooked dinner for him and he seemed to be liking it. We were having a casual conversation about…. Nothing in particular, really. Then suddenly his tone changed. It was serious.

"Flora, I know I haven't been a good father to you. I really don't blame you for not coming back all those years. We don't have the best father-daughter dynamics, do we? I know I am to blame. But today in the office, after seeing you again, I was thinking we could change that. I want you to give me a chance. You are all that I have left in this world." He looked at me desperately, looking sincere…and sad. I wanted to get up and give him a hug, telling him I loved him.

But I didn't. My feet wouldn't move. I just kept staring at him. He wanted a good father daughter relationship and that wouldn't happen unless he solved our past issues.

"Why did you leave mom?" I asked him bluntly, surprised at myself. I always wanted to ask him that but never had the courage.

"I wasn't ready, Flora. I had never known that things like magic existed in our world and my wife tells me on our wedding night that she is a witch. I felt betrayed…. And afraid. I loved her. Later…...when she was gone… I always wanted to go back and…" His voice broke.

I looked at him as he tried to compose himself. I felt guilty for judging him all these years. I had never even tried to look at things from his perspective. He had obviously loved mom a lot. I never even married again.

I became aware of the wetness on my cheeks. Both of us were crying. Well, maybe this was a good way to start the father-daughter bonding.

I walked up to him, awkwardly putting my arms around him. "I love you, dad." I told him in between the sobs.

I went to bed emotionally drained and physically exhausted from the jetlag. To my surprise, instead of thinking about my life at Hogwarts, I started thinking about the guy from the plane. I wondered why his behavior bothered me so much. Perhaps I had got so used to admiration that I could not handle the opposite. Did I want him to admire me? Of course not, he was nothing but a stranger to me.

Thinking about him, I remembered my older days in Forks, when I had been the freak in the school. Nobody cared to talk to me, let alone be friends. It was due to my uncontrolled magic during those days. Whenever anything unusual happened, my classmates had learnt to expect me being the reason behind it. They couldn't get any proof, though they tried hard.

But things had changed in the past 5 years. I had learnt to control my magic. Even puberty had worked like magic on me. Nobody hated me anymore. Then, why did he?

I sighed.

At least things were getting better with dad. But I knew this was only the beginning, we both had to try hard.

With this happy thought, I finally fell asleep.

…

Today is another day, I told myself as I woke up with heavy eyes. I showered and went down to find dad at the breakfast table. It was unusually late for him. I figured he was waiting for me.

"Good morning, dad." I said as cheerfully as I could.

He smiled back at me.

I racked my brains to find a topic for conversation as I buttered my toast. Something personal, definitely not the weather, and something not as traumatizing as last night.

"So, I'm thinking of getting a job." I said. "If that's okay with you." I quickly added.

He looked confused. "Why do you need a job?"

"I don't know. I…um… a lot of kids my age have jobs and I'll be having free time, so…. I might also join a vocational course."

"Like what?" he asked, glancing at his. He was obviously late for office.

"Some musical instrument I guess. Cello or something." I said, off-handedly. I hadn't really thought about that.

He picked up on that. "There is a really good ex-cello concertist who moved to Forks recently. I can get him to give you private lessons.

"That would be great." I said enthusiastically.

"I wasn't really interested in cello, but then I wasn't really interested in anything. I just wanted to kill time. He seemed pleased at my response.

"And about the job. I could get you an internship at the forest department."

This, I was really interested in. As a kid I was always fascinated by Fork's forests. Before I could reply, dad pulled a car key from his pocket and put it in front of me.

"I suppose you'll need a car to get to your new job."

At this I actually squealed in delight. I loved driving, be it cars or brooms.

"Oh my God! Which car is it?"

"A Mercedes Vanquish."

I did not let this revelation alter the smile on my face. Vanquish was an expensive car, lavish and perfect. But it had a surprisingly low speed limit of 50 miles per hour.

"Thanks, dad. It's perfect."

He smiled and got up to leave for work.

"The car's in the garage. You'll be all right today?"

"Yeah. See you in the evening." I walked him to the door.

Will I be all right today? I asked myself.


	3. Jacob

3\. Jacob

I decided not to remain holed up in the house all day. I searched for small scale automobile workshops in Forks on the net. Nothing small scale in Forks but I found one on the adjacent beach of La Push.

I went to the garage to find my new car. There, along with a dozen other lavish cars I found my Vanquish. It was the latest model, black in color and had bulletproof glass. I had always thought Vanquish to be the perfect car except for the speed limit. That was what I wanted to get changed in the workshop. It was illegal so no established place would attempt it. There for I needed something small scale.

The drive to La Push was uneventful. There I pulled up and asked a local teenager for directions. He pointed towards a shack about a mile towards the beach. "Can I get a ride?" he asked, looking at awe towards the car.

"Sure. Hop in." I told him. He was a tall, lanky dark skinned boy, no more than 13-year-old.

"So, why are you taking this fancy car to that garage?" he asked.

"Umm…. I just wanted to get it checked out." I answered vaguely.

"I'm Seth, by the way." He said as we reached the garage, getting out of the car.

I walked into the empty garage. Old, rusted tools were lying on the ground. I supposed it didn't get many customers. As I explored, Seth brought another boy with him, maybe a year or two older than him. He reminded me of Harry, even though he looked nothing like him.

"May I help you?" he tried to say in a professional tone. I suppressed a smile.

"You work here?" I asked. He nodded, too busy looking at the car. I looked like he liked what he saw.

"I need to get rid of the speed bar." I said, trying to sound more confident than I was.

He looked at me questioningly. "You know that's illegal, right?"

"I'm not asking for a receipt."

He debated internally for a minute. "All right, but I don't guarantee anything."

"Deal" This was easy.

"Hold on. You're not supposed to say deal before you finalize the price." Seth commented.

"All right. What's your price?" I asked.

This time his internal debate took longer.

"100 dollars." He finally said.

He obviously had not much experience in business. He could have asked for a much larger sum for this.

"Okay. But are you sure you know how to do it?" I asked, taking out the money and handing it to him.

"You bet." He said, cheerfully.

He immediately started working, with Seth acting as his assistant. It looked like he knew the job well.

"You are from England?" came a voice from under my car, obviously picking on my accent.

"No, I live in Forks. I've spent most of my life in England, though. I'm Flora, by the way."

"I'm Jacob. Where do you live in Forks? I've never seen you before."

"In Greenpark Estate." I muttered.

"Figures." He said. Greenpark Estate was the name of my dad's house. Everyone knew where it was and who it belonged to.

"How old are you, Jacob?" I asked, when he didn't speak again, observing his mad mechanical skills.

"Sixteen." He said.

"Why are you lying?" I laughed.

He made a face. "Fourteen. I'll be Fifteen in four months. How old are you?"

"I'll be Sixteen next month." I told him.

He got up a few minutes later, covered in grease. "Done."

"Wow, that was fast. Can I drive it home?"

"Yeah, sure. Just don't take it above 100 for two or three days. And get it back here if there is any problem, though I doubt there will be. Hey, do you mind if I keep this?" He said, gesturing to the speed cap equipment.

"Yeah. No problems. And thanks." I hurriedly got into the car. I couldn't wait to check it out.

To my surprise, it ran even more smoothly than it did before. Jacob really knew his work. I quickly accelerated to 100 and opened the windows. The wind felt so good. It was one of those moments when I felt truly happy. It almost felt like riding a broomstick. Harry and me used to…

I sighed. The moment was gone.

The rest of the day passed quite fast. I got supplies for school and went shopping for clothes. In the evening dad handed me the letter of appointment to the Forest Department of Washington.

"You join tomorrow. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. An I've got you those cello lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You're going to have pretty busy weeks." He told me.

Well, that was exactly what I wanted.


	4. New School

4\. New School

I drove to Forks High school the next morning. After parking the car, I went straight to administrative office. As I entered. I found a completely muggle environment in contrast to Hogwarts. Beige colored walls, school trophies decorated on the side walls, a receptionist sitting on the desk… it would take some time get used to my new school.

The receptionist looked at me inquiringly.

"My name is Florance Vincey. I got registered recently."

She gave me an acknowledging smile and went towards the storeroom, bringing out the admission forms and attendance slips.

"Here you go, honey. Get those slips signed by the teachers and get them to me by the end of the day."

I thanked her.

"Welcome to Forks High school, by the way. I hope you have a good time here."

I seriously doubted that.

I went to Calculus, my first class. Mr. Banner wasn't difficult. He signed my slip and sent me to my seat, without any introduction, which suited me. My seat partner turned out to be Jessica Stanley. I remembered her from junior school, the most talkative girl in class who left no stones unturned to bully.

"You're Flora, right?" She didn't wait for my answer. "I'm Jessica. We were in the same class in junior school. Remember me?"

How could I not remember her after all the hard time she give me? Still, she seems friendly enough now. I could give her chance.

"Yes, of course." I said, smiling at her.

"So, what brings you back after so many years?" She didn't even bother with small talk.

Thankfully, Mr. Banner called the class to attention at that moment saving me from an awkward conversation with Jessica.

The classes weren't so bad. Although they became dull after a while. One cannot be expected to be interested in Spanish and Calculus after Defense Against Dark Arts, Charms and Transfiguration for 5 years.

I did not meet any more of my old classmates. However, Jessica was as annoying as ten of them put together. I had all four of my classes before lunch with her. She kept bugging me about my life in London. I reminded myself that it wasn't her fault I was in a bad mood and answered her politely, not truthfully, of course. She even tagged along with me in the cafeteria. I wondered why she was suddenly so interested in me.

I got my answer when I saw everyone in the cafeteria staring at me. I was a shiny new toy to look at in their uneventful lives.

I sighed. This was going to be tough.

I surveyed the entire cafeteria for a safe spot without curios eyes. That was when I saw her. It was the same girl I had seen on the airplane. There were others sitting beside her as well, a girl and two boys. They had the same features as her. As I looked longer, I noticed they looked nothing like each other. How was this possible? How could they look so much alike, yet so different?

"What are you staring at?" Jessica said in an intentionally loud voice. I quickly averted my gaze from them before they could catch me staring.

"Nothing. I just don't remember seeing them in Forks before." I said, gesturing towards them, trying to get some information.

"You wouldn't have. They just moved here six months ago."

"They haven't mixed up well in these six months." I noticed how isolated they were from others. They sat alone at their table, toying with their food, not eating anything, not talking.

"They don't care to do that. They're the Cullens. You see, they are all together. Alice, short brunette, is with Jasper. He is the one with blonde hair. And the blondie, Rosalie, she is with Emmet, the big one. And there is also Edward. He is single and apparently wishes to remain so, I guess. I wonder where he is today." She mused.

Edward. He must be the one on the plane.

"But how can they be together, if they are related?" I couldn't believe I was indulging in muggle gossip.

"Oh! They are not related. They were foster kids with Dr. and Mrs. Cullen until they adopted them."

"But they look quite similar, don't they?"

"Maybe Dr. Cullen practices plastic surgeries on them." She joked.

I smiled, though the joke did not amuse me. Something was certainly wrong with them. I could feel it in my bones. I remembered how Edward Cullen had glared at me…. But where was he?

"Who were you talking about? The one who isn't here today.?"

I noticed the flicker in her expressions before she could control it. She was not pleased about my sudden interest in him.

"Edward? Well, he doesn't have a very good attendance record. But neither do they. They usually go for hiking trips together when the weather is good. But they always miss school together. He has never been absent alone." She answered me in a perfectly pleasant voice. She was a pretty good actress.

So. This was not a usual event.

"As a friend, I should warn you, don't waste your time on him, when he comes back. He really isn't interested." She said in a sincere voice, with a very faint note of annoyance.

"Oh, I really wasn't planning." I assured her.

"Would you be coming to Midsummer Eve's festival, this Sunday?" she asked, changing the subject.

This question sent the train of my though on a different track. Midsummer night has always been my favorite festival. It had been mom's favorite too. She never let me miss it. I remembered how we celebrated it in Hogwarts…

The lunch bell rang.

I came back to the present startled. My surroundings somehow surprised me. As if I was expecting myself to be in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, celebrating Midsummer Eve with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Yeah, I'll be coming." I answered Jessica, walking out of the cafeteria. In my peripheral vision I saw Alice Cullen returning her tray, not having eaten anything.

The rest of the school hours passed slowly. I had Physics and Biology in the last two hours, neither of them with Jessica, thankfully. I sat alone in Biology, as my lab partner was absent.

As soon as the class was over, I rushed to my car. I was truly looking forward to my new job, but even that turned out to be a disappointment. I was asked to organize manual records. It was tedious work, which I finished early, thanks to my OCD. I had hoped that working in the forest department might be little bit more adventurous.

Quite opposite to my life at Hogwarts, the week passed without any special event. School was same as the first day. Though the staring reduced to some extent. I had to present my biology project alone on Saturday. My lab partner, whoever he might be, was a no show.

I was asked to handle accountancy at work. The cello lessons, I'd rather not talk about them. I could see dad was worried about me. He frequently tried to ask me about Hogwarts, though he treaded the ice carefully. He knew it was a sensitive subject.

Nights were a constant struggle. Even if I managed to fall asleep, I would have some random dream about Hogwarts which would wake me up.

I had a common muggle life. A witch's worst nightmare.


	5. Midsummer's Eve

5\. Midsummer's Eve

Finally, Sunday arrived.

Though I would not admit it to myself, I had been secretly looking forward to it, not only because of a much needed break from my daily routine, but also due to Midsummer's Eve. Believe it or not, I was quite excited about it.

Despite my excitement, I overslept. I quickly fought my grogginess by taking a shower and raced down to the hall to find dad on the phone.

"Yeah. Sure, she'll be there…...No, I'm sure she'll love to be a part of it. Okay, I'll talk to her." He hung up. "Flora, there you are. I was just talking to Frank Powell. He is the head of the decoration committee. I told him you'll be volunteering in my place this year. Is that okay?"

"Yeah. I'll love to help with the decorations. I'll leave for town hall right away." I said, already walking towards the garage.

When I reached there, I saw that nothing had been done. The town hall looked like the town hall, not a place hosting a party that evening. I figured dad was the only one who took Midsummer Eve seriously and got everything done here.

I found out, Frank Powell, the so-called head of decoration committee, had left me in charge, as there was an 'emergency' at his house.

Okay. I sighed heavily. This was my chance. I was going to make this the best Midsummer Eve celebration this town had ever seen; the best decorated at least. I was really tempted to make it look like the Hogwarts Great Hall, but that would probably be too much.

After six hours of meticulous planning, bossing volunteers around, and a lot of hard work, along with resisting the urge to use magic, the work was finally done. And it looked awesome! I hoped the other arrangements were at par.

I quickly drove home, put on a blue gown and curled my shoulder length black hair. I was just in time to find dad in the hall, waiting for me, wearing a tuxedo. Together, we drove to the town hall, which looked gorgeous. Dad was impressed.

I found Jessica standing near the entrance along with a group people I seen at school. I approached to join them, and they ogled at me. I was reminded of Yule Ball at Hogwarts.

"Hi Flora. Looking good." She tried to say indifferently, but the hint of jealousy was evident.

"Thanks. You're looking really pretty too." She really was. The baby pink evening dress she was wearing really suited her. It was maybe a bit too revealing, I observed.

Just then, someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned back to see Jacob smiling at me, dressed in a white shirt and black pants. He was looking really in the sea of tuxedos. I hadn't expected to see him here.

"Want to dance?" he asked, still smiling. I was slightly taken aback. Still, I took the hand he offered and went to the dance floor with him. The rhythm was slow so there wasn't much to be done except glide around the floor. His hands were on my waist, mine were on his shoulders. I actually felt good, dancing like that.

Then I saw him. He was standing on the other side of the hall, looking at us. I had almost forgotten about Edward Cullen during this week and had convinced myself he wouldn't be coming back.

But here he was again. This time wasn't glaring, though. There was no hatred in his stare. He looked curious and… irritated. It was the same expression he had on the plane, before it turned into that murderous glare.

It seemed that my vision had zoomed in on his face. I could see every detail, every expression, every perfection… Then I noticed something. His eyes. They were golden-brown today, not black like they had been on the plane. Even the dark circles seemed to have vanished.

I didn't know why it piqued my interest so much. It could mean nothing more that contact lenses and fulfillment of required sleep.

"You know him?" Jacob asked, following my gaze.

Did I know him?

"No." I told him, unsure of the right answer.

I was still looking at him, registering every detail. As I answered Jacob, his lips pulled down a bit, as if he had somehow heard my answer and it displeased him. But his amber gaze was fixed on me., never leaving my face.

The bubble of contentment I had built had popped. I couldn't stand dancing there any longer. It somehow felt bogus.

I removed my hands from Jacob's shoulder and backed off. "I'm sorry. I need to go." I told him and walked away.


	6. Edward Cullen

6\. Edward Cullen

I didn't know where I was going and why, for that matter. Why did his curious gaze disturb me so much? I should just go and ask him what his problem was.

No. He would think that I'm paranoid.

I looked around for dad and found him talking to someone who looked very similar to the Cullens. He was probably Dr. Cullen. Not wanting to disturb them, I went outside towards the parking area. I needed some time to figure it out.

Suddenly, my foot caught something and I tripped, letting out a cry. Falling at an awkward angle, I got a sprain in my left foot. It pained terribly. I tried to get up but couldn't.

"Are you all right?" asked a voice behind me. I looked back to see the owner of the voice. It was him.

"I'm fine." I squeaked. This was embarrassing.

To add to my embarrassment, he came to my front and sat down. Thankfully, the ground was dry and I wasn't covered in mud. There wasn't much light, but I could see his face. He looked concerned, worried and…. gorgeous. I hadn't seen up close before, and now even I would admit he was breathtaking.

Before I could prepare myself, he placed his hand on my ankle. I jerked away my foot, despite the pain, not because of the coldness of his skin, which was strange on this summer night, but because of the current which rippled through my skin at his touch.

"I'm sorry." He said, without meeting my eyes. What was he sorry about?

He looked at me at last, scrutinized my face for three long seconds and then gently put down his hand on my ankle. The flow of current was there again, but now it was tolerable. His hand felt like it was made of ice. But the cold felt good in this humid heat.

Still keeping his eyes on my face, without any warning he twisted my foot. I let out a cry, more out of surprise than pain.

"Can you move your foot?" he asked.

I tried to, and surprisingly the pain had gone.

I nodded at him. "Thanks." I said.

"You're welcome." He replied, with the corners of his mouth twitching. It seemed like he was having a hard time fighting a smile.

"What's funny?" I asked him.

"Nothing." He said, his smile breaking free.

I didn't realize I was gaping open mouthed at him like an idiot until his smile disappeared.

"What?" he asked, obviously questioning my stability.

"Your eyes. They are different." I said, unable to find anything else to comment on.

This time even the traces of smile vanished from his face. It looked like a carefully set neutral mask.

"Different? How?" He said in an extremely controlled voice.

"On the plane…. they were black." I was losing coherency now. Great.

"I think you are making a mistake." He said with certainty, without any hesitation.

Maybe I was. I wasn't perfectly stable on the plane. Maybe this was all my imagination, the black eyes, the hatred in them. Maybe he was telling the truth.

I looked up in his eyes again. He stared back without any guilt. Then, suddenly, he looked away.

"I should go now. Would you be able to walk?" he said, getting up.

"I'll manage." I told him.

He turned and walked away at a faster pace than normal. I kept looking at him until he was out of sight.

Was I really wrong about this?

No, he had looked away in the end. He was just a good liar. But why did he have to lie about this? He could simply have told the truth, which would undoubtedly have been contact lenses.

I got up quietly, with the gears of my mind running. Deciding not to return to the party in this messed up condition, I resumed walking towards the parking lot.

Surprisingly, I found dad waiting there for me.

"Didn't like the party, Flora?" he asked.

"I liked it, dad. I'm just a little tired." I told him, unable to share the problems which even I didn't understand.

We drove home in silence and I replayed tonight's events in my head.

What the hell was wrong with me? Had the shock of leaving Hogwarts unhinged something in my brain? Why was I worrying so much about inconsequential muggle affairs? Okay, he lied to me. So what? Muggles lie all the time.

But he was not an ordinary muggle. There was something special about him, something wrong about him, with all of them. I just…. felt it.

I woke up at first light the next day. I didn't want to go to school I had had enough of it last week. But I knew dad wouldn't be happy about me skipping school, so I quickly got dressed, had my breakfast and went to school.

Unlike every other day, I was late. I parked in the only vacant spot. I didn't realize where I had parked until I got out. Edward was there, leaning against his car, next to mine. He gave me a smile.

I acknowledged by waving my hand and reluctantly, turned and started walking towards the class. Before I got far, I heard a scream. A shrill, high pitched scream. I was loud enough for everyone on the school grounds to hear, obviously coming from the forest beside the school.

Soon, the school security officials were informed and a search team went towards the forest. Student were told to go inside, but everyone was too excited to do so. People started forming groups and inventing their own theories to what had happened. In all that commotion, I noticed Edward, not very far from where I had seen him a minute ago. He looked tense and was looking intently at something far away. I followed his gaze to find Alice, who was also staring across the parking lot at him. It looked like they were communicating.

I decided to ignore that and walked towards the forest, hoping no on in-charge would see me. I had almost reached the edge, when Edward blocked me. "Where are you going?" he asked me.

"I work at the forest department." I told him, holding out my badge, trying to be funny.

He didn't find it amusing. "You shouldn't go out there, right now. It's not safe." His concern was genuine.

"Will you rat me out?" I asked him.

"I might." He answered, without any hesitation.

"No one likes a tattle-tale." I told him, trying to think of a plan to get into the forest.

"I don't care. You're not going out there today." I was a bit taken aback at his authorative voice, more so at his confidence."

"You know what happened out there, don't you?" I raised my eyebrow.

"No. How could I?" he said, in the same sincere, confident voice he had used when he lied about his eyes.

I remembered the meaningful stare he shared with Alice and looked around the grounds trying to find her. She wasn't there.

"Where's Alice?" I asked him.

"In her class, literature, I think."

"Is she?" I knew he was lying.

I started walking towards the school building to prove my point (or his lie). He did not follow me. I looked back to see him standing right there at the edge of the forest, trying to concentrate on something.

I was a little too caught up in staring him, that I forgot to look ahead. This time my foot him a step and I fell again. Hard. On my face.

"Hey, you okay?" said a voice, clearly frantic.

How was this possible? He was standing meters away from me just now.

I felt a shooting pain in my head as I raised it too tell him I was fine. My vision blurred for a second. When it was clear again, all I could see was an empty corridor. He wasn't anywhere in sight.

I tried to get up and the pain hit again. And I knew no more.


	7. Animal Attack

7\. The Animal Attack

I woke up with heavy eyes, in what seemed like a hospital room. There was someone sitting there beside my bed. When my eyes got adjusted, I saw it was Edward. It looked like he hadn't noticed I was awake. He was looking towards me but was deep in thought. His eyes were soft, looking into mine. I had no idea why but I didn't want that moment to end. It was the most peaceful I had ever felt. Even though my heart was fluttering like a hummingbird's, I felt calm. I felt whole.

My moment was interrupted by a jolt of pain in my arm. Edward quickly held my arm and steadied the i.v. His hands were still ice cold.

"So, Ms. Vincey is awake?" I heard someone say. I turned to see the man I had seen dad talking to, at the party. He checked my pulse and blood pressure. "How are you feeling, Florance?"

"I feel fine." I told him. "Can I get discharged? I don't want dad to know about this. He'd worry unnecessarily."

"Your father has already been informed, dear. He was at a conference at Port Angles. It would take at least an hour for him to get here. He'll have to sign your discharge papers. I must say I'm surprised at your rate of healing. Your wound is almost healed." He commented looking at my forehead. "Don't you have to be in school, Edward?" he addressed his son.

"I thought I'd give Flora some company till her father is here. I've already missed most of my classes." He said. I was pretty surprised at this gesture.

Apparently, Dr Cullen was not. He merely shrugged and continued his rounds.

"Can I ask you something?" Edward said after a few minutes.

"Hmm?" was all I managed to say.

"Why did you run towards the school like that?" A valid question.

"I didn't run." I clarified. "Well, it was pretty evident that you weren't going to let me go into the forest and…. it was also pretty evident that you were lying about Alice being inside the school. You have a tell, you know that?"

"A tell?" he looked surprised.

"Mm Hmm. Of course I'm not going to tell you what it is."

"Well, you can't possibly know if I have a tell or not because I wasn't lying." He said, in the same cool, confident voice he used when he was lying.

I giggled, surprising myself. Maybe I was high on the pain meds.

"How much morphine did they give me?" I inquired.

"5 mg over 2 hours." He answered.

"That's too much." I said, weakly. "Could you turn it down?"

"You've got stiches, you know." He said, but obliged.

"Did they find out what happened in the forest?" I asked, curiously. I noticed the change in his expressions at my question, before he controlled it.

"It was Emma Bronte. She was a senior. Her dead body was found mutilated in the forest. They think it was a wild animal."

I raised an eyebrow. "A wild animal? There is not a single documented beast in the forests for 50 miles which could mutilate a human body. Just gazelles and deer. I know that for sure because…."

He cut me off. "You work at the forest department, I know. You sure you don't want more morphine?" he asked. Pain must be evident on my face.

"I choose pain over a blurry mind." I simply stated.

He shrugged. "Anyway, the wild animal theory isn't mine. It's the official story."

"Have there been any other 'animal attacks' here?" I was still skeptical.

"Not here." He answered grimly, in a tone that meant they've happened somewhere.

Dad entered the room at that moment. He looked really worried. I wondered how he'd react if he ever found out about my adventures at Hogwarts.

He was going to say something, when he noticed Edward and looked at me questioningly.

"Dad, this is Edward. He … got me here." I introduced him, rather sheepishly.

"Oh! It's nice to meet you, Edward. Thank you for getting Flora to the hospital. You're friends, I gather?" Dad held out his hand.

Edward shook it. "Yes sir, we are."

I looked at him.

We were?


	8. Vampires?

8\. Vampires

I was back at home, lying down on the bed, as dad did not let me go to the forest office. I was thinking about the gruesome death of Emma Bronte. How could they simply label it as an animal attack?

I got up and started hacking the website of the Washington Police Department. There wasn't much on this case except the autopsy report, which stated that all her organs were severely pale. The reason listed was massive blood loss. But according to the crime scene report, no blood was present on the scene. That did not just make sense.

Vampires, I thought to myself.

I had learnt about hem while preparing for my NEWTs. They were incredibly fast and strong creatures who fed on the blood of humans, killing them in the process. They were cold as ice and had eyes as red as blood. They were considered monsters even by the wizarding community. They sometimes had special powers which led some to believe that they had magical origins. However, after much research it was concluded that they were nothing but muggles who were changed by vampire venom after deaths into soulless monsters. A mass eradication was organized in the 19th century. They were considered almost extinct now.

However, their danger was so great that it was important for every wizard to know the methods of their termination, though nobody ever expects to encounter one.

I remembered Edward's indicated remark about other 'animal attacks' and after searching I found numerous cases around Port Angeles and Seattle, in the past one month. In most of the autopsy reports I found bodies drained of blood. They had to be murdered by vampires. There was no other explanation.

I thought about informing the Ministry of Magic, but with Voldemort on the loose, why would they bother about a few muggle killings? What should I do? This used to be so easy when there were four of us to brainstorm. Now it was just me, with nobody to share anything with.

…

The next morning, with much effort I was able to convince dad to let me go to school. When I reached there, I couldn't stop myself from looking towards the forest and wondering about the innocent life that was lost just to quench the blood thirst of a vampire.

My thoughts were interrupted by a silver Volvo driving by in from of me. To my surprise, only Edward got out of the car.

"Where's your family?" I asked my new 'friend'.

"On a hike." He said, closing the door, using his lying voice. Really? Was he a pathological liar?

"Why didn't you go?"

"If I went, who'd pick you up when you fell down again?" he said, walking towards the school building.

I blushed. He had to bring that up again. "I'm not that clumsy, you know." I almost tripped on a step as I said that.

Edward steadied me, keeping me from falling. I noticed his cold touch again.

"Of course you aren't." he teased.

"Do you have hypothermia or something? Why are your hands always so cold?"

"It's genetic." He answered.

"As far as I know, there are no genetic causes of hypothermia."

"As far as you know." He emphasized, walking away.

I realized I had reached my classroom. Jessica cornered me as soon as I entered.

"I told you to stay away from Edward." She said.

"Excuse me?"

"He's off limits to any girl here, including you. You can't just come in here with your English accent and perfect hair, and break the rules. It doesn't matter how rich you are. Now back off, or you'll be as miserable and alone as you were in junior school."

I was still figuring out what to yell at her when Mr. Banner entered. Jessica turned and walked to her seat.

"Confundus." I said, under my breath, and she fell right on the floor.

I was so angry, I barely managed to sit through the classes. At lunch, I actually thought of skipping the rest of the day, then I thought Jessica wasn't worth it. Another strange thing was that nobody was talking about Emma's death, as if nothing happened. Maybe they didn't know about it yet.

I entered the cafeteria and speculated where to sit. I certainly wouldn't sit with Jessica and her gang, where I usually sat. I looked around and saw Edward sitting alone. I walked up to his table and sat next to him, extremely aware of Jessica's stare. Edward looked as shocked as anyone when I sat down. He didn't ask anything, though. He simply offered me his food, seeing I hadn't got anything to eat.

"I'm not hungry." I said. I was too angry to eat.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm just fed up with bullies."

"Let me guess. Jessica?"

I looked at him. "Did she bully you, too?"

He chuckled.

"She tried. She asked me out for the Spring Dance, last year. I politely refused. She said she'd make sure no one from this school ever goes out with me."

"And you didn't do anything?"

He shrugged. "She was doing me a favor."

"Not interested in dating?" I asked, a little too curious to know the answer than I should be.

"Not really. Not until recently, anyway."

What did he mean by that?

Quick, say something, I told myself.

"So, I hacked the police website, yesterday." I said casually, eating one of his fries.

"You did?" he asked, surprised.

"Mmm Hmm. And I took a look at Emma's autopsy report, and guess what? She was completely drained of blood. And all those other animal attacks you mentioned…"

"I didn't mention any animal attacks."

"Well, you said they didn't happen here, so I figured they happened somewhere. Anyway, all those bodies were also drained of blood."

He didn't say anything. He didn't even look surprised.

"Well? This doesn't seem odd to you?" I prompted.

"No." He simply stated.

"Well, if you think it can be explained by blood loss; there wasn't any at the crime scene."

"So, I suppose you have a theory?"

Yes, I almost said.

"Not yet. I just wanted to know what you thought about it."

"I think you are thinking about it way too much."

And I think you know something about it, you're not telling me.


	9. The Truth

9\. The Truth

"This week you're supposed to submit a project on Fetal development." I was in the biology class. Edward was sitting beside me. It turned out he was my missing lab partner.

Somehow, I had been hugely aware of him sitting beside me, throughout the class. Instead of concentrating on the blastocyst development, I found myself concentrating on his every movement. he was there, sitting just inches away from me, and its driving me crazy. It was the first time I was experiencing my raging teen hormones.

"Cullen, last week Ms. Vincey had to prepare her model alone due to your absence. I expect you to participate appropriately this week." Mr. Morgan said, coming to our seat. He had dismissed the class.

"I'll make sure to do that, Mr. Morgan." Edward said. "Shall we do it today, then?" He asked me as the teacher left.

"I've got cello lessons." I said, reluctantly.

"Cello lessons?" he raised his eyebrow.

"I swear I'm not making that up."

"What about tomorrow then?"

I'd have to go to work tomorrow. I even missed it on Monday.

"You know what, why don't you come by later today? About 6 o'clock?"

"Sounds good." He said, walking away.

…

"Why aren't you concentrating today, Ms. Vincey?" asked Mr. Anderson, my cello teacher. "You've been doing so well the last two classes, I thought you wouldn't need more than ten of them. But today is a different story. I'm afraid I can't let you leave before you learn this harmony."

I sighed. I knew very well, why I wasn't able to concentrate. Sadly, I couldn't do anything about it.

I reached home a little late and found Edward already sitting in the living room with dad.

"There you are, Flora. Mr. Cullen has been waiting for you." He used his last name, which meant he liked him. Yay!

"I'm so sorry. I got up held up. Shall we get started, then?" I motioned Edward to follow me to my room. Surprisingly, dad didn't object.

We entered my room and he started observing it with mild curiosity. I swore internally as his eyes fell on the notepad on my bed, on which I'd written points about my vampire theory.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Nothing." I said, taking the notepad from him.

"Tell me." He pleaded, his amber gaze staring into mine.

"You'll probably think I'm crazy, but I think those people were killed by vampires." I told him, not being able to resist.

He looked at me for some time. Yep, he definitely thought I was crazy.

"I thought vampires can't come out during day-time." Was he mocking me?

"That's just a myth." I said, quickly adding, "I think so."

I could sense this conversation was making him uncomfortable.

"Where did you find this info about vampires, anyway?"

"The Internet." I lied.

He did not say anything and sat down on the couch. "We should start with zygote or blastocyst?"

He left at about 9 o' clock, after finishing up the project. He hadn't talked much about anything else. Though, he tried to pretend otherwise, but for some reason; he was very uncomfortable. Well, you can't expect to tell a muggle guy about some bat shit crazy vampire conspiracy, and not have him worry about your mental facilities.

But I knew the theory wasn't crazy and something needed to be done about it, or innocent lives would be lost.

I remembered a spell I had learned for the NEWTs. I took out my Defense Against Dark Arts textbooks and searched for it. It was used in medieval times to locate vampires. After much effort, I found it and took out a map of Forks.

Wow, I really felt like one of the witches they show in the movies. But unlike them, I had to chant the spell only once before the map revealed the location. I wasn't really expecting it to work.

I read the name of the location, horrified. 'The Cullen House.'

Edward, I thought.

I got out of the bed and hurried towards my car, making sure dad doesn't hear me. I had to get there fast. I was already on the highway when I realized I didn't know what I'd do when I got there. It was possible that the Cullens had already been murdered. It was possible that there was more than one vampire there.

I stopped the car when I was about a mile away from my destination. Vampires had very sharp hearing. I didn't take any chances.

"Ampify." I murmured as low as I could. This would allow me to listen to any conversation up to 5 miles away.

"…. All of us could not track down one vampire together. We had been playing hide and seek with him all day." Came a man's voice.

"It would have been a lot easier if Edward had come with us. We'll have to catch that savage soon. He's leaving dead bodies all over the place. People would soon grow suspicious." Said a woman.

"Yeah, about that." It was the voice I could never fail to recognize. "Someone already is."

"What do you mean?" It was Dr Cullen.

"Flora has already figured out these are vampire attacks. Somehow she seems to have an awful lot of correct information on the subject." Edward told them.

"Do you think she knows about us?" Dr Cullen was worried.

"I don't know. I wish I could read her mind." He answered.

"You met her father today. Got anything on his thoughts?"

"No. He wasn't thinking about anything related to this. I don't think knows anything about it."

There was a long silence.

"We have to take care of this." Said the man who was speaking earlier. Maybe it was Jasper. Or Emmet.

Edward growled. "I'll kill you before you touch her."

"No one is killing anybody." Dr Cullen interjected. "This is not who we are. If she knows something, all we have to do is move away from here."

And as luck would have it, I sneezed at that moment.


	10. Realisation

_Sorry for the delay. I had exams._

10\. Realization

I froze, not daring to move.

"It is Flora. She is in her car parked about a mile from here." Said a girl. She sounded like she was Alice.

So, in a second she had travelled from her house to me and back again.

"What is she doing there?" asked Edward.

"Nothing. She is just sitting in the car." Alice answered.

I started the engine and drove away, still processing the information I'd just received. The Cullens were vampires? Of course they were! How stupid I'd been. They never ate anything. Edward's skin was so cold. The color of his eyes kept changing. He had reached me in an instant when I fell down at school. And I thought they were the victims when the spell pointed towards their house.

But at least they weren't responsible for those deaths. It was some other vampire they were trying to locate.

But surely they also need blood. How can they survive without it? Why were their eyes not red? And how did they manage to live in a community?

I was still in shock when I reached home. To my surprise, there was an ambulance parked in the driveway. I rushed inside to find paramedics carrying dad on a stretcher. He was unconscious.

Mrs. Boyle told me what had happened, in between her sobs. Dad had gone to the kitchen and fell down taking down the refrigerator. The noise woke her up. He was conscious when she found him, complaining of intense chest pain.

I drove to the hospital as fast as I could. My vision blurred by tears. God, please don't let him die. He was the only person I had left. We had started to…... No, he would be all right.

An intern cornered me as I asked for dad at the reception.

"We're taking him for an emergency aneurysm repair. I need your signature on the consent form. Dr. Cullen would be here soon."

Dr. Cullen? A vampire, a creature who couldn't contain his bloodlust, was going to operate on my dad, opening his chest while blood spurts from his aorta.

"Isn't there anybody?" I asked, trying to sound calm.

She looked confused at my reluctance. "No, Dr. Cullen is the only surgeon on call, and you're lucky he is. He is the only one who might pull this off."

So, I had no choice. I remembered Dr. Cullen saying that killing people was not who they were. I hoped it was true and signed the consent form.

I sat down in the waiting area, barely able to keep myself from breaking apart. They were already suspicious of me. He wouldn't take it out against dad, would he?

"Flora, what are you doing here?" it was Jacob's voice. I looked up to see him standing near the ER entrance about a meter away from me. He looked at me with a worried expression.

"My dad." I managed to choke out.

His cell phone rang. "Yeah, dad. Mark is fine now. It was just an asthma attack." He answered. "I'll have to stay here for a while." He said, looking at me.

He sat down next to me. It provided little comfort.

"You should go. I'll be fine." I told him, in a firmer voice than earlier.

"I'll stay." His tone indicated that it was not debatable.

I was not able to sit still. He held my shaking hand. "He'll be fine. Who's treating him?"

"Dr. Cullen." I answered, mincing my words.

"See? You've nothing to worry about. Dr. Cullen has never lost a patient."

Yeah? Well, you don't know what I know about him, I thought. I didn't say anything, though.

Jacob stayed with me till morning. That was really nice of him. At least I wasn't alone. He wasn't even leaving in the morning. I actually had to beg him to go, telling him repeatedly that I'd be fine.

A little while after he left, I saw Dr. Cullen walking towards me. I braced myself. I could see the blood on his scrubs.

"Flora, your father is out of surgery. We were able to repair his aneurysm. He'll be fine." He told me, smiling.

I was not expecting that. "Thank you. Can I see him?" I avoided looking him in the eye.

He instructed his intern to take me to dad.

He had saved my father. A vampire, considered monster by everyone, had saved a dying man. 'This is not who we are.' I remembered. I felt so guilty of judging them like that. They were also humans…. Metaphorically speaking. Yes, they needed blood for survival, but that didn't necessarily make them killers. Maybe they used blood banks. It didn't matter. They were living in a community and were saving lives rather than taking them, and they had every right to do so.

I forgot everything about the Cullens when I entered dad's ICU. He was lying there, almost looking like he was sleeping, with multiple i.v. lines attached to him. He had a big thoracotomy scar on his chest. But he was unmistakably alive.

I sat down on the chair, put my head next to him, and silently cried.


	11. Pretend

11\. Pretend

"Yes, we go to school together." I heard the voice telling Mrs. Boyle, which was without any doubt Edward's.

It was almost 4 in the evening. I had of course not gone to school. Dad had woken up for a few minutes but they put him back under because of the pain. I had not seen Dr. Cullen again. His intern had come for dad's post-op. She told me he'd be conscious soon, but complete recovery would occur in around 3 weeks.

I left dad's side to see what was going on.

Edward was there outside the ICU with Mrs. Boyle, trying to convince her to get me to come out.

"Hi." I greeted awkwardly, walking towards him. I couldn't believe I was still attracted to him.

"Hi. I heard about your dad. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine." I said for the tenth time that day. "Mrs. Boyle, can you be with dad for a while?"

She left giving me a consoling pat on the back.

"You want to get some coffee?" Edward asked.

Since when did vampires had coffee?

We sat in the hospital cafeteria. I was surprised to see Edward actually drink his coffee. I suppose he was trying to convince me that he was normal.

"At least, you weren't alone here. Dad told me that there was someone here with you last night." He said.

I didn't even need to observe his tone to tell this was an outright lie. He was obviously here last night. I remembered what he said when Jasper had threatened me. Why was he so protective of me?

"Well, Jacob is a good… friend, I guess? I haven't known him long. But I'm grateful he was here."

He nodded. "This must be really hard for you. So, where were you when he collapsed?"

So, he was fishing for information.

"Actually, I was out. I couldn't sleep so I went out for a drive. Then I had a headache and returned. Thank God, I did."

I wasn't going to let him know so easily that I knew his secret. They might be good vampires but I wasn't sure how they'd react if they found out that I, who belonged to the community which was responsible for the eradication of their species, knew about their deep dark secret.

I decided to change the topic. "So, has Jessica spread any crazy rumor about me yet?"

"As a matter of fact, she has. She is telling everyone that you are a witch."

I wasn't very good at controlling my expressions. If he didn't have any suspicions about it before, he definitely did now.

"Are you?" he asked.

"So, you believe in witches now?"

"Well, you believe in vampires." He countered.

I was terrible at changing topics.

"Anyway, it looks like I won't be coming to school for some time. Could you do me a favor by finding out my assignments and letting know?"

"Yeah sure, no problem." He looked over my shoulder. "Do you believe in werewolves?"

I turned and followed the direction of his gaze. I saw Jacob walking towards us.

"I should go." Edward said, standing up.

What did he mean by that, I thought as he walked away. Jacob wasn't a werewolf, was he? No, of course not. It was a full moon night yesterday and he was here all night.

"Did your boyfriend leave on my account?" Jacob asked as he sat down.

"He's not my boyfriend." I said, somewhat displeases by the fact.

…

"You'll have to go to school now." Dad insisted.

It had been two weeks since his aneurysm burst. I had rarely left his side and had no intention of doing that now.

"But I'm all caught up. I've been doing all my assignments." I protested.

"Yes, I know. Edward has been getting you those assignments. He is a nice boy and good looking too. You like him?"

"Dad!" I whined.

"What? I know this is something you'd want to talk with your girlfriends, but considering you don't have any…."

"I've been friends with attractive boys before. That doesn't necessarily mean I like them." I evaded the question.

"That doesn't answer the question." Dad was quick to catch.

"If I agree to go to school, can we stop having this conversation?"

Dad gave me a sly smile.

I sighed. "I suppose you'd want me to join back my job and the cello lessons too? I really don't want any more cello lessons."

"But you've had only three lessons."

"Trust me, three are enough."

"Okay. I also don't want you to go back to your internship either."

"Why?" I was surprised.

"There have been two animal attacks in the forests near the town border. I don't want you working in the Forest Department after this."

I didn't say anything. After that dramatic revelation about the Cullens and dad's hospitalization, I had completely forgotten about that homicidal vampire.


	12. The Crazy Witch

The Crazy Witch

I saw Edward walking towards the school building when I reached school the next day. I ran to join him.

"Hi." I said, breathless.

"Hi. I didn't expect to see you here today." Didn't you?

"I wanted to talk to you about something. There have been more 'animal attacks'."

"So, I've heard."

"C'mon, you can't possibly think they really are animal attacks. I don't think any evidence of a man-eater has been identified."

"You think? I thought you worked at the forest department?"

"I quit." The bell rang at the moment.

"Let's talk during lunch." He said, taking out a leaf out of my hair.

I went inside the class, smiling.

Jessica and her gang were giving me hatred filled glares every chance they got; but otherwise they didn't do anything to 'make my life miserable'.

I wouldn't admit it to myself but I was secretly looking forward to meeting Edward at lunch. I saw him sitting alone when I entered the cafeteria. His tray contained a little too much food, even for someone who was pretending not to be a vampire.

"Your family is hiking again?"

"Mmm Hmm." He answered, taking a bite of the pizza. I sighed at the lengths he was going to prove he was human.

I tried to think of something to about the murders without giving away that I was a witch and that I knew that they were vampires. I came up with nothing.

"What are you thinking?"

It must be frustrating for him to not know that, listening to everyone's thoughts but mine. I wondered what was the reason for my immunity to his powers. Maybe all that Occulmancy practice with Harry paid off.

"I was thinking that if it is a vampire who is doing all this and if he is caught, what is supposed to be done with him." I didn't expect any help from the Ministry and even Azkaban wasn't as secure as it previously was.

He didn't hesitate. "It's obvious, isn't it? If he is a vampire, he must be evil and he must be killed."

I was shocked at his unflinching reply. "That's racist, you know."

He raised his eyebrow. "Racist?"

"Yes. You can't say someone is evil just because he is a vampire. Well, this one definitely is, but not all of them are."

He smiled. "You should become a vampire rights activist."

"I might." I said.

Oh my God! Was I flirting?

…

"So, how did you know about Jessica's plan?" I asked Edward, already knowing the answer, as we walked towards the nearly empty parking lot.

Edward had told me to 'watch my seat' when I was entering my Physics classroom. I was puzzled as to what it meant until I saw the carefully concealed red paint on my seat, which would look nothing less than period blood on my white pants. This was low, even for Jessica.

"Just heard some gossip." Edward answered.

I stifled a smile.

Suddenly, as if in a dream, I heard a voice. "Crucio."

And all the nerves in my body were on fire. I could not feel anything except the pain. It was too much. The only thing I was aware of except the pain was the high pitched cry. It grew louder and louder till it hurt the ears.

Then, as quickly as it had come, the pain stopped. So did the cry. I found myself lying on the ground. Edward was kneeling beside me, holding me. He looked worried. Before I could get up, I heard her.

"That must've hurt a lot." I could recognize that venomous child-like voice anywhere. It was Bellatrix Lestrange. She was standing at the edge of the forest.

I got up as fast as I could. Not now, not here, I prayed, not in front of Edward. As if answering my prayer, she turned back and walked into the forest.

"Please stay here." I told Edward.

"But..."

"Please." I insisted.

I didn't look back to see if he was following, as I walked into the forest. I really hoped he wasn't.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Bellatrix, as I reached her. I tried to keep my voice as firm as I could, regretting leaving my wand at home.

"Oh, I was visiting someone. Thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing."

Visiting someone? Was Voldemort recruiting?

She stroked my cheek with her fingernail. "Although I'm really tempted, you know. The Dark Lord would be really pleased if I got rid of you."

I sucked in a quick breath.

"Maybe some other day." She said, before disapparating away.

I breathed a sigh of relief and turned back only to see Edward standing there, looking at me.

"So, you really are a witch!"


	13. The Homicidal Vampire

The Homicidal Vampire

All right; He found out. But he found out himself. I didn't tell him. There were no laws defied. It was better in some ways. There was no need for secrets now.

"Could you read her thought?" I asked.

His eyes widened. "What else do you know?"

"Everything." I dismissed his question. "This is important, Edward. Who is she visiting?"

He hesitated for a moment. "A vampire named James. I believe he is the one responsible for these attacks."

Oh no! An evil vampire recruited as a Death Eater. That is the worst possible thing ever.

"We have to stop them." We had to. There wasn't a choice.

"We'll have to find them first." Edward said. He was still hesitant. Of course, he was. He had just found out that I was a witch and I knew about him being a vampire. It might need some getting used to.

"Apparato revelid." The spell was used to find the location of a recent apparition. Rarely useful in normal settings, but because off the sparse magical population in Forks, it was useful in revealing Bellatrix's location.

"Found them." Now I was just showing off. "You'll drive?"

He obliged. We could apparate but I didn't know if it was possible for vampires to apparate. I had summoned my wand with the help of the Accio charm.

"My family would also be here soon." Edward told me. He had been texting.

"Did you tell them about me?"

He shook his head. "I didn't exactly know what to tell."

"Does it bother you?" I asked.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking this question?"

"No. I think I've already made it clear that it doesn't bother me."

"Maybe then you don't know everything."

"I know enough." I argued. "We are here."

I said that even though we were not quite there. But when there are vampires involved, it's better to take precautions.

Edward was listening intently. "Stay in the car." He said.

I got out, following him. He rolled his eyes. Then his expressions changed to something that could only mean 'They know we are here'.

Soon enough, I heard the apparition 'crack' to my left and turned to see Bellatrix standing there. I wasn't scared this time. This time I was prepared.

Surprisingly, she didn't attack. "It looks like I won't get to kill you after all." She disapparated, giving me a smirk. I was confused, until I felt my wand burning in my hand. I dropped it as it turned to ashes.

That blubber.

I turned towards Edward and all I could see was blurred motion. It was too fast for me to observe anything except that two figures were violently colliding with each other. James, I thought.

I was still trying to make out what was happening when I heard a painful groan. It was Edward's. It could only mean that James had the upper hand. I had to do something. But what could I do without my wand?

Impulsively my hand raised itself towards them and something shot out of it. It was definitely some sort of energy, but I hadn't said any spell. The beam hit both of them and I saw James hurling back and hitting a tree. He was covered in flames and soon was nothing but ashes.

I remembered the beam hitting Edward and looked at him to see that his skin had turned red. I rushed to him. "Edward!" I called out. He didn't respond. He looked like he was unconscious. Can vampires become unconscious? I had no way of knowing if he was all right. He had no pulse, no respiration….

"Revivum rejuvitane. Revivum rejuvitane." I began chanting, placing my hand on his burning chest. There was no response. Tears started rolling down my cheek. "No. No, please don't." I sobbed. "You can't…"

Suddenly, he opened his eyes. His skin had gone back to normal. "Flora…." He began.

I didn't let him finish. I threw my arms around him and hugged him, sobbing violently.

"It's all right. It's all right." He crooned, rubbing his hand on my back. "We are fine."

I calmed down after a few minutes and looked up to find that we weren't alone. The Cullen family was there, looking at us with mixed expressions.

"I should go." I whispered, and disapparated back to home.

…

After a sleepless night, I went to the garage the next day only to realize that I had left my car at school yesterday. I was speculating what to do, when I heard a horn from the driveway. A familiar silver Volvo was parked there.

"You look in good spirits today." I observed as I entered the car.

"Believe it or not, I actually am." Edward replied. "I also have about a million questions for you."

"Oh! I have them too." I exclaimed, remembering those things I couldn't figure out.

He raised his eyebrow. "I thought you said you knew 'everything'."

"Metaphorically." I countered.

He chuckled. "Anyway, you can't ask your questions today. It's my turn."

I pouted, wondering if I'd be able to answer his questions without breaking any wizarding law. I hoped he'd understand if I couldn't.

Everyone at the school grounds stared at us as we got out of the car.

"Where is your family today?" They didn't have any reason to skip school. James was dead.

"They'll be coming in Alice's car."

"Are they okay with me being a…. you know...?"

"Why wouldn't they be?" He tried to act casual, but I could sense a bit of tension in his voice.

"Even Jasper?" I asked.

"Are you spying on us?" he accused, jokingly.

"No." I defended myself. "It was an informed guess. Ami right?"

"He'll come around. He has had some bad experiences with witches back in the 18th century." He answered, grimly.

I swallowed. 18th century? I had completely forgotten about the fact that vampires don't age. For all I knew, they could be millennials old.

"How old are you, Edward?"

"I was born in 1902." He looked at me, as if expecting me to scream and run away.

"I'll see you at lunch." I said, as we approached my class.

He was surprised at my lack of reaction to his age. So was I.

Well, he was born in the same century as me. That was something. I can do with that, I though as I entered the classroom.


	14. Letters

_Dear Flora_

 _Everything is fine here, if you are wondering. Well, relatively fine. There have been death eater raids but no one we know has been harmed yet. Harry still isn't telling us what went down between you two that made you leave. I understand it was logical for you to leave after completing your NEWTs, but you were so adamant about staying before._

 _I would like to apologize for not appreciating you while you were here. With you gone, it seems I'm always sorrounded by boys. Well, except Ginny, but she is boyish enough to not matter._

 _The OWL results arrived. I did okay with all Outstandings and Exceeds Expectations in DADA. Harry and Ron did fine too. They wouldn't be able to take potions this year, though._

 _Harry also went with your grandfather to recruit the new DADA teacher, Horace Slughorn. According to Harry, Dumbledore had also apparently injured his left hand. Do you know anything about it?_

 _How are you doing? Did you resume your muggle studies again? I had wanted to continue them along side Hogwarts, but it was too much for me._

 _How is it like living with your dad after five years? Is Forks still as dreary as you described? Did you make any friends._

 _Write back soon. Miss you terribly._

 _Your friend_

 _Hermione_

 _P. S. Ron says hi._

 _Dear Hermione_

 _I miss you too. Hogwarts had been my home for the last five years. It's been weird, being away._

 _If you had asked me earlier about what happened between Harry and me, I probably wouldn't have told you. But now that I've had time to think about it, I can tell you that he was trying to protect me, in a very twisted way, but I can acknowledge that he had good intentions. It probably had something to do with the prophecy in the department of mysteries. Anyway he came to me when both Ron and you were in the hospital, and told me that he was tired of me showing him up and basically told me to beat it. I'll grant that he wasn't in the best mental state after losing Sirius and wanted me out of the harms way. But tell him that I figured it out and I'm really mad at him. And he better start accepting my letters before I start sending howlers. I'll stay here for some time, since you guys are relatively out of conflict right now, but I'm coming back the moment Voldemort declares open war._

 _I don't really have any contact with grandad, so I don't know about his hand. I'm doing fine. Yes, I joined the muggle high school. Dad and me have patched up. Forks is as rainy as ever. I may even have a maybe-boyfriend. It's still too soon to tell. I'll update you if something happens._

 _Love,_

 _Flora_

 _P. S. Tell Ron I said hi back._

 _P. P. S. I ran into Bellatrix Lestrange last week and she used the cruciatus on me. Be sure to tell Harry how 'safe' I'm here._

 _Dear Flora_

 _I cannot even begin to tell you how sorry I am. I know how much I hurt you. I regretted every word I said to you that day. I had lost Sirius a day ago and you're the closest thing to family to me. I didn't want to lose you._

 _The prophecy had revealed an even bigger target on my back than I'd been aware off. Voldemort would surely have used people close to me to get to me. I had thought that getting you to the other side of the world would keep you safe. Sometimes I forget how easy it is for wizards to travel._

 _I am happy you are settling in at Forks, though not as much about the boyfriend bit. I'd like to meet him to see if he even deserves someone as amazing as you. I've reluctantly accepted the fact that you'll be back when things get bad. You wouldn't be you if you didn't insist on doing that._

 _Hogwarts is the same as ever, except Snape is teaching DADA, potions is taught by Slughorn, Dumbledore is giving me lessons on Voldemorts history and Malfoy is up to something._

 _Your silly friend_

 _Harry_

 _P. S. I'm sorry you got attacked by Bellatrix and hope you're okay and gave back as good as you got._

 _P. P. S. Ron says hi._

 _Dear Harry_

 _It would probably take some time for me to forgive you completely. You hurt me a lot. But I'm sure I'll get over it eventually, as I can understand why you did that._

 _As for the boyfriend bit, it isn't anything serious. I'm sure you'll give your approval when you meet him._

 _I'm glad grandad is helping you prepare for your next inevitable confrontation with Voldemort. He sounds really busy from his letters. Since, you're seeing him regularly, how's he doing? I hope he is taking care of his heath, now that I'm here._

 _I'm fine. Bellatrix just used a cruciatus, taunted me and disapparated. Oh, and she destroyed my wand. I've been thinking of getting a new one, but I heard Ollivander was kidnapped. Tell me if you know of any other wand maker._

 _Love_

 _Flora_

 _P. S. Tell Ron I said hi back._


	15. Change

I grimaced as another wand exploded in my hand. This was getting ridiculous.

"Is it really necessary?" Edward asked, getting the first aid box.

"I'm defenceless without a wand. It's either experimenting with wand making or flying to Europe to get one, which I'm not comfortable doing when I am defenceless." I told him.

"You are not defenceless." he said, looking intently at me.

"After everything I've told you about my adventures, do you really think that I'll be happy being a damsel in distress, while you protect me? Besides, you already know wizards have defences against vampires."

He just sighed. "Very Well. Since, you've exhausted your supply of Unicorn hair, what are going to use next?"

"My blood. Blood wands are illegal in Britain, but I doubt anybody in the US cares." I noticed his slightly panicked expression, and added, "Don't worry, I'll do it after you go."

"No." he said, taking a deep breath. "I need to get over this. I cannot be any help to you against Voldemort if I go berserk at the smell of your blood."

"I'm not expecting you to help me against Voldemort, Edward. It's not your fight and we're not exactly what you'd call steady..."

"Do you want us to be?" he interrupted me.

"It's not that simple. I like you and care about you a lot, but we aren't even the same species and then there's the fact that my kind have been responsible for near extinction of yours. That's not even counting the immortality factor."

He looked at me for a long time before saying, "You're right." Which somehow gave me warning bells.

"You know, I tried to find what happened to wizards or witches who get bitten by vampires."

He looked at me sharply. "That's not happening to you. Ever."

"I know. You've already made your views clear on the subject. I was just curious and turns out there are no magical vampires. Our blood is more magical than the venom and it prevents the venom from changing our cells."

"I see." he looked relieved.

I hesitated to say anything further. "I've been going through some formulas and I think..."

"Yes?" he asked, warily.

"I think the process can be reciprocated. To turn you back human, the way you were before the change."

"Flora, please tell me this is not a joke."

"It isn't, I promise. It's only theoretical and would require a lot of magic, more than I'm capable of channeling, the process is converting you from a muggle to a magical. You have already absorbed so much, from after your fight with James, that I think it would be possible for you, if you are up for it. " I babbled.

"I have to talk to my family." Edward said, before promptly vanishing.

I sighed and began drawing blood about for the wand core.

The next day at school, Edward was missing and the rest of his family wasn't sure if they hated me for giving Edward a chance to be human again or were grateful to me for giving Edward and chance to be human again.

I thought that it would be best to avoid them for a while. It definitely wasn't an easy time for them.

I busied myself in my studies and proceeded to give my extra tests for early graduation. I was confident I had passed.

Edward didn't show till after graduation day.

"Flora." he called out, as I entered my room.

"Edward. How are you?" I skipped admonishing him for entering my room without permission. Today was definitely a special occasion.

"I'm all right. Congratulations, for graduating." he said, giving me a small smile. "I am sorry for being absent all these days. I hope you can forgive me."

"You're forgiven. I'm understand why you were gone. I had dropped quite a bomb on you, hadn't I?"

"Are you still amenable for doing it?" he asked.

"Yes, of course. We can do it today. It's full moon, so channeling magic would be easier. If you're fine with it. We can wait, if you're not."

"I think I am ready." He answered.

"All right, then. I'll seal the room. I have to warn you though, this'll hurt. A lot."

He nodded.

I made him lie down on the bed and cast a strong petrificus totalus on him. After that it was simply the process of channeling magic, which I proceeded to do while holding his hand. He couldn't move his facial muscles, but it was evident from his eyes that he was in agony.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I kept murmuring. Slowly, I noticed that the skin of his hand was no longer as hard as it was. It was working.

It was after hours, when the color of his eyes changed from golden to green, that I was confident that the process was done. I cast the spell to locate vampires and it came negative. Elated, I removed the petrification spell from Edward and promptly fainted due to magical exhaustion


	16. Back to Britain

"Edward Cullen?" I asked at the hospital reception.

"Room 25, sweetie." the receptionist replied, recognizing me from my many visits to Dad when he was here.

I entered Edward's room to find him holding a book with his good arm, having difficulty turning the page.

"Serves you right, for trying to defile Mr. Vincey's daughter. " I teased him.

"Flora, please don't be cruel." he smiled back.

The reason for Edwards current situation was him using his current very human body to flee from my room in the morning after his change, performing a jump from he could easily do in his vampire body, which led to two broken bones in his left arm and leg, and a very awkward conversation with dad.

What annoyed me the most was that the conversation was entirely unnecessary. Before he was human Edward very carefully shrinked away from physical intimacy, because of his unnatural attraction to my blood and superhuman strength. Even if those two were cured, his early 20th century morals were still in place, which weren't very lenient on pre-martial sex.

"How are you?" I asked.

"I don't think I've ever been better." he said, the same thing he'd been saying for the last two days. Edward was overjoyed to be human again. I don't think he was ever suited to become a vampire, not like the other members of the Cullen family. He was obviously trying to adjust being this different from the family he'd been with so long, but despite my initial misgivings, they were quite supportive.

"I have to take some of your blood." I told him. "You need a wand to learn magic, before you start having spontaneous outbursts of magic."

"I almost forgot about that. I'm a wizard now, aren't I?" he said in wonder, offering his arm to me.

"Yup. Say, can you still read minds?"

"Not as well as before." he admitted. "But certainly much more than the last time I was human. I still can't read yours though."

"That's just Occulmency. You'll encounter it in many of the witches and wizards."

"I should probably learn it too. It might reduce the mental noise."

"Sure, I'll add it to the list."

Edward mock shuddered at the mention of the list. It contained all the magical subjects I had decided to teach him. "When can you get out of here? We might have to go to Diagon Alley to get some supplies." I asked.

"In a day or two, according to Carlisle. I'm healing at quite an accelerated rate."

Two days later Edward and I exited the floo at Leaky Cauldron. We were able to find a seedy wizard bar in Seattle that had international flu connection.

"Hey, Tom." I greeted the barman, with a smile.

"Flora. Such terrible news, my child. You have my condolences. He was such a great man." he said to me, his face fresh with tears.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"You don't know?" he looked aghast. "Oh, dear. You grandfather's dead as of last night. The funeral is today at Hogwarts." he told me.

"What?" I said, my heart already denying his words. Grandad couldn't be dead. He was the strongest wizard in Britain. It was obviously some rumors started by Voldemort.

I was aware of Edward holding me trying to be comforting. "Hogwarts." I told him. He nodded and went to talk to Tom, getting some floo powder. He took me towards the floo and said the destination, "Three Broomsticks."

I was dimly aware of our walk from Hogsmaede to Hogwarts. The gates were open, which was the first sign that this might not be an elaborate hoax after all.

We reached the grounds to find a large gathering. My eyes searched for Harry. He would tell me the truth.

"Flora." said a familiar voice from behind me. I turned around to see Harry, whose face was all the answer I needed. I sobbed, unable to control myself anymore.

He grabbed me in a hug, saying that he was sorry, over and over again. It seemed that he saw grandad die too. Fate was really a bitch to Harry.

It took me several hours to calm down enough to think rationally. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Edward and me were sitting in the Room of Requirement. Harry was eyeing Edward suspiciously, which made me smile a little despite the situation.

"Tell me." I said, leaving no room for argument. What followed was the tale of Voldemort's life and his suspected horcruxes, and the mission to get one of them which ultimately resulted in grandad's death.

"What's the plan?"

"We were planning on skipping Hogwarts next year to search for them." Hermione said.

I shook my head. "We have to start now. With grandad gone, it would be very easy for Voldemort to grab power, which would make insanely difficult for us to search for the horcruxes. I think I should raid grandad's library while you three go down the chamber and get some basilisk fangs. Carefully." I added.

I looked at Edward, silently asking him if he was sure he was in. He nooded stubbornly. I sighed.


	17. Horcruxes

"Okay. So, all we have right now is that he made six horcruxes, two of them are destroyed, third is Slytherins locket, which is in possession of RAB, fourth is Hufflepuffs cup whose location we don't know, fifth is Nagini who would be with Voldemort, sixth is an unknown object of Raveclaw or Gryffindor. We know we can destroy them with basilisk venom and fiendfyre. We have five basilisk fangs, one for each of us. Anybody got any ideas?"

"You can ask your teachers who RAB is. They would have a better idea than us. You don't have to tell them why exactly we need to know, just that it's important." Edward said.

Hermione nodded. "I'll do that."

"We should ask Raveclaws about their founder's objects. We are Gryffindors and we already know there are only sorting hat and the sword, which are obviously clean." Ron offered.

"I'll ask Luna." Harry said.

"The diary was with Malfoy. May be V.. Voldemort gave the cup to another one of his loyal death eaters." Hermione tentatively put forward.

"Snape." Harry growled.

"No." I cut him off. "Snape was a spy. He'd never risk a horcrux with him, with his uncertain loyalties."

"He was obviously on Voldemort's side." Harry stated.

"I'm not so sure about that." I murmured, low enough so they couldn't hear. Apparently, Edward did as he looked at me curiously. I shook my head.

After they were gone I explained to him, "Grandad said 'please'. He would never say that to someone get his life spared. He was most likely asking Snape to kill him."

"Why?" Edward asked, surprised.

"I don't know. He always has a reason though. And he trusted Snape." I shrugged. "You were thinking about something when we were discussing horcruxes. Care to share?"

He hesitated. "I don't obviously don't know about the magic involves, but all of Voldemort's horcruxes are part of the same soul, aren't they? If we acquire one couldn't we use it to track the others?"

I stared at him, speechless for a second. That was brilliant. "Edward, you are a genius." I said with glee. Already working on the arithmetic calculations for it mentally. If only we find a horcrux.

Turns out we found two. Harry had remembers seeing a tiara in the room of hidden things which looked quite a bit like the model of Raveclaw's diadem in the Raveclaw common room. Meanwhile Hermione and Ron asked Professor McGonagall about RAB, who she identified as Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius' little brother who was apparently a death eater. Following this revelation, they went to Grimmauld Place where Hermione had remembered seeing a locker while cleaning, and got the Horcrux.

By the time, they came back with them, I had competed the spell and cast it on the objects and a map of Britain. There was a spot at Hogwarts' location, one at Gringotts and another at Wilshire. Assuming the Hogwarts dot indicated locket and diadem, Wilshire dot indicated Voldemort and Nagini at Malfoy Manor, then the cup was at Gringotts. The question was how to steal it from the most secure building in Britain.

"Its impossible. They track magical signature. No magical person can get in undetected, even with your cloak Harry." Hermione insisted. "And there's no way a muggle would be able to bypass further defences."

"What about vampires?" Edward questioned.

"Vampires don't exist anymore. They were hunted down by wizards in late 18th century." Hermione answered.

"Of course." Edward pretended to agree. "It's a hypothetical question."

"Well, I suppose they could do it. And Gringotts was remodeled in late 19th century, they don't have vampire defences anymore."

Edward glanced at me meaningfully.

"We should go to dinner. We'll talk about it tomorrow." I ended the discussion.

"Alice could do it." Edward said, once we were alone.

"I can't ask her to do it for me. It's too risky." I retorted.

"It's not for her. She can see if anything is supposed to go wrong. Besides she knew we were going her help, she told me tell you she doesn't doing it for you, before we left."

"What if she is identified?"

"She won't. You perform the spell again, with the map of Gringotts. I'll get her."

12 hours later, Alice handed me the Hufflepuff's cup, wearing slightly singed clothes, telling me that this was most fun she'd had in decades.

Ron, Harry and Hermione accepted my explanation of family magics, for the sudden appearance of the third horcrux. Since already destroyed the diary, Ron, Hermione and I were armed with basilisk fangs to destroy the horcruxes, which emitted out green smoke and black icher when stabbed.

Suddenly, Harry collapsed to the ground, clutching his scar. "He felt it." he breathed out. "Voldemort. He's coming here."

Aware of the castle full of children, we rushed towards McGonagall's office.

"Professor McGonagall." Hermione shouted, as we saw her walking down the corridor.

"Ms Granger... and friends." she said, glancing at us. "Why are all of you running in the corridors?"

"Voldemort is coming here. You need to evacuate the students. We don't have much time."

McGonagall, aware of Harry's scar dreams, went pale at that, then created several cat patronus and sent them with the message of 'Evacuate Hogwarts. We are going to be under attack.'


	18. End

All the students under seventeen were being evacuated, order members had been informed and they were slowly trickling in. Mad Eye Moody was making battle plans against death eaters and Professor McGonagall was activating Hogwarts defenses.

I was going to set up ballista on the Astronomy tower for those who couldn't fight directly, when I was grabbed by someone and shoved into a classroom. It turned out to be my old potions professor.

"Vincey."

"Snape."

"Not going to attack me?"

"Not unless you do. Why are you here?"

"The Dark Lord is guarding his snake." he began. "Dumbledore told me to inform Potter of something when that happens. I didn't expect it happen within one week of his death."

"What are you supposed to inform Harry of?"

"That he has a piece of the Dark Lord's soul inside of him. He needs to die in order for the Dark Lord to die." he said, before vanishing in black smoke.

Realisation hit me like a truck. Parsletongue, the visions... they all made sense now. Harry was one of Voldemort's horcruxes, an unintentional one, if I had to guess.

If grandad had thought that I'd allow Harry to die just to get rid of Voldemort, he thought wrong. This was certainly a difficult situation, but Florance Vincey was nothing if not resourceful.

I entered the Room of Requirement to find Harry pacing, and Hermione and Ron teaching Edward some useful combat spells (I wondered what excuse he gave about not already knowing them.)

I approached Harry and asked him, "Do you trust me?"

"Completely." he said, without hesitating. I was touched by his reply.

"I'm going to ask you to do something crazy, but it's important." he nodded. "When the attack starts, Voldemort will be sending his minions first, death eaters, ware wolves and dementors. I want you to come with me and let a dementor suck your soul."

His eyes widened and then narrowed in realisation. "I'm a horcrux, then."

He correctly guessed.

"Yes. I am not going to let you die, though, no matter what. Just trust me, all right?"

He nodded, looking determined. That was when the proximity alarms around the gate sounded. The attack had begun.

I grabbed Harry and rushed to find an isolated dementor. We found one about to desoul Bill Weasely, before it sensed Harry and turned its attention to us.

Harry willed himself not to produce his patronus and collapsed as the dementor sucked out a soul. It was a horrific sight, but I was right. With a quick spell, I was able to confirm that harry still had his soul. I put my wand inside the dementor's mouth and said, "Expecto Patronum." A silver phoenix burst out of my wand and tore the dementor into thousands of pieces. I carried Harry towards a safe place, and shoved a pepper up potion down his throat. He woke and sat up, as I handed him some chocolate.

"It's gone." he said, as if in awe.

"It is." I replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Lighter than ever. As if a great burden is gone."

"Good. That's good. Are you ready to join the fight?"

"Yes." he said. "There's still Nagini and Voldemort to take care of."

"There are a lot more people to take care of than that." I muttered as we ran to rejoin the battle.

I saw Nagini out of the corner of my eye and was going to take care of her, as Edward quickly stabbed her with his basilisk fang. Voldemort's cry of anguish was heard across the grounds.

Edward was looking at me with a triumphant smile when a curse hit him in the back and he collapsed, to reveal Bellatrix as the caster.

"Isn't that your boyfriend from the states, little Flora? Going steady?" she taunted.

I was hardly aware of the battle going on around me as I charged at Bellatrix with barely restrained fury. She was very good at dueling, but I was better. In ten minutes, she was really on the ground, dead.

I looked around to see that the fight had ended. The death eaters were fleeing and Voldemort was lying dead several feet in front of Harry.

I ran towards Edward, fearing the worst. I knelt by his side and felt his pulse, which was present. I sighed in relief. A quick diagnostic charm revealed that he was only stunned. I quickly rennervated him, and kissed him full on the lips, as he woke up.

"You are never doing that to me, again." I mumbled against his lips, moving my hands through his hair.

"I promise." He replied, before deepening the kiss.

We were interrupted by a cough and I broke away from him gasping for air, turning my head to see Harry, Hermione and Ron standing near us. Harry was looking at Edward with his eyes narrowed.

"If you ever hurt her..." he began.

"I won't." Edward interrupted. "If I do, I'll deserve what you'll do to me."

"That you will." Harry replied, before offering Edward his hand, which he shook.

"Do need to threaten Ginny, then?" I teased.

Harry blushed. "You don't have to worry about that."

I laughed at that, joined quickly by the others. Soon we were giggling uncontrollably in post battle bliss.

All was well.


End file.
